14 FEBRUARY 7, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Petition pushes for halt to overdevelopment in Maspeth & Woodside
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
A petition on Change.org is calling
on politicians representing
Maspeth and Woodside to take
action on conversions of homes and
buildings to multi-family dwellings,
which the author, who only goes by
Nadia M., claims is spreading unabated
in her community.
Almost at its goal of 100 at 82 signatures,
the author says they have
toured homes in the community and
claims they are being renovated and
fl ipped for cash in one form or another,
and that this has an “urbanizing”
eff ect on the neighborhood.
Nadia M. directed the petition at
Councilman Robert Holden and Assemblyman
Brian Barnwell whose
districts cover those communities.
“Third-parties have been converting
homes into rooms-to-rent style
lodgings and in the process have
tarnished our neighborhoods sic
appeal,” the author of the petition
wrote. “They have extended the
physical layouts of houses creating
an awkward appearance in comparison
to the rest of the houses in the
vicinity, cut trees, and manufactured
balconies that violate the privacy
of others in the vicinity. I have
personally visited an open house
recently where such a ‘project’ has
been completed and encourage you
to see for yourself the impact to the
community both optically and practically
... They are merely patching
up houses to fl ip them. I refuse to call
them homeowners as they are only
concerned with profi ting and do not
have any care for the neighborhood
we live in.”
Holden responded to the petition
saying that the buildings mentioned
by the petition author – 50-18 61st St,
and 50-09 63rd St. – are all within the
scopes of the current zoning laws, but
that he is working to have the neighborhood
downzoned.
“The Department of Buildings has
conducted inspections in this area
of Woodside, and so far all of the
buildings in question are being built
according to the current codes and are
not violating zoning laws,” Holden said.
“This is why I remain committed to the
request I have made for City Planning
to create a one-family row house zone
that would downzone the neighborhood
and prevent such alterations in
the future.”
Holden introduced a bill in September
titled Intro. 1126 aiming to create
an interagency task force to deal with
illegal conversions throughout the city.
Currently in the Committee on
Housing and Buildings, the illegal conversions
and occupancies task force
bill will produce an annual report
on illegal conversions and advise on
Photo via Google Maps
policy changes which could prevent it
in the future.
It would be comprised of representatives
from multiple agencies who will
hold regular hearings in each borough.
“One of the biggest concerns we
receive is about illegal conversions,”
Barnwell said. “We constantly send
these complaints to the Department
of Buildings for investigation, and we
continuously follow up. Anyone that
sees these illegal conversions should
immediately call our offi ce (718-651-
3185) and we will report it.”
Petland Discounts closing down entire chain after owner’s death
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
EDAVENPORT@QNS.COM
@QNS
A pet store chain with multiple
locations throughout Queens
will be closing all of their stores
later this year.
Petland Discounts, which operated
throughout the tri-state area, is expected
to close all of its locations by
April 18. The news comes days aft er
the sole owner of the company died.
Reports say that the owner, Neil
Pardon, passed away this month at
the age of 74 aft er a long battle with
bladder cancer.
Pardon founded Petland Discounts
in 1965, opening its fi rst location in
Glen Oaks. At its height, the chain
grew to have more than 100 stores
throughout New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut.
Petland Discounts has many
locations in Queens, including the
following:
• 21-11 Broadway, Astoria
• 66-26 Metropolitan Ave., Middle
Village
• 34-60 48th St., Long Island City
• 43-10 Ditmars Blvd., Long Island City
• 37-55 82nd St., Jackson Heights
• 70-44 Austin St., Forest Hills
• 94-18 63rd Dr., Rego Park
• 85-17 126th St., Kew Gardens
• 30-28 Steinway St., Astoria
• 71-8 Kissena Blvd., Flushing
• 55-52 Myrtle Ave., Ridgewood
• 91-08 Atlantic Ave., Ozone Park
The Ridgewood Times reached out
to Petland Discounts Inc. for comment,
but no response was received prior to
press time on Feb. 6.
Photo via Google Maps
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